How Nurses Can Leverage Social Media

Nursing requires a lot of time, dedication and effort to get it right. You’ve got new patients to care for, medications to administer, patients to prep for surgeries… it’s a busy job and the list of responsibilities can feel endless. In a job that requires so much commitment and countless people-facing skills, you must continuously evolve and learn to remain up to date with current trends, care options and medical advice.

Sometimes, staying up to speed means learning what’s popular so you can relate to your pediatric patients, while other times it requires understanding a new study or care method that may have been introduced since you’ve left school.

It may surprise you to learn that social media is a wonderful way to not just reduce your stress but to also learn and evolve as a nurse.

Here are some top reasons why nurses should navigate social media:

Fun

As nurses, your job tends to be more stressful compared to many other industries and fields so it’s not uncommon to find yourself tired or stressed by the end of your shift. That’s where social media comes in!

Try following some nursing meme pages, popular influencers and other nurse-related content. Not only will you be able to find ways to laugh off the stress, but you may also discover how much you can mentally benefit through relating with other like-minded people.

Advice

Whether you’re a new or experienced nurse, you have had those moments where you felt alone or unsure and needed advice from someone else. Outside advice can be so helpful in so many different cases!

Many nursing pages across varying platforms will offer advice for every niche you could think of. Everyone needs help sometimes, and that’s why there are so many nursing help profiles out there. Be sure to follow some and check them out occasionally.

Learning

New to the field? Then there’s always time to learn! Even if you aren’t new, you may be surprised at the number of different ways you can accomplish a task you’ve been doing forever. Sometimes you may even learn a more effective method that cuts down on time and other resources!

Following nursing groups and staying aware of trending best practices is a wonderful way to ensure you never stop learning, which is so important for a career that is always changing, advancing and innovating.

Community

Everyone should have a community of people who understand them, so why not find them through social media? There are endless Facebook groups, Subreddits and Twitter pages devoted to those in the nursing field.

Try joining them, checking out the posts, and making a few of your own! It only takes a little bit of engagement before others start to reply to you. As time goes by, you may even meet some lifelong friends who would be more than happy to share their nursing experiences with you!

What are some recommended platforms to use?

In the never-ending and ever-growing world of social media, it can be daunting to figure out which platforms are best for your needs. For nursing, something like Snapchat isn’t likely to help you all that much. So, here are some helpful suggestions for you to check out:

Facebook

Facebook is a tried-and-true platform for those looking to join communities and groups of like-minded people.

While you probably first think of staying connected with friends and family via Facebook page posts, you may be surprised to realize how many Facebook Groups exist now! There are so many specific groups that you can find by checking out the Facebook groups tab and searching for whatever you’d like.

You can find everything from nurse humor to NCLEX studying, nurse advice and so much more! There’s always a group for you on Facebook.

LinkedIn

Let’s say you’re looking to develop a professional network and perhaps even job hunt. A LinkedIn profile might be the most essential part of accelerating your nursing career. Here, you can list all your work experience, connect with coworkers, and even get their endorsements to help you later.

It’s a great platform to establish yourself on, and you may even find your next job or a future mentor.

TikTok

TikTok is the newest kid on the block, and as such, is perhaps one of the fastest-changing platforms now. There are so many nurses sharing advice and life experiences on this platform that you can follow, and just as many that can give you a good laugh too. It’s a terrific example of a platform that can blend the fun of social with the community and learning opportunities you’re looking for.

Better yet, why not start your own page? You can create whatever nursing-related content you’d like and generate your own following! You can help your followers, and in return, they can do the same.

Be careful, though! TikTok is notoriously easy to get stuck on. Keep an eye on that clock while you scroll!

Twitter

Twitter is a quick and snappy platform where ideas are conveyed rapidly. While you certainly can make friends and Tweet with other like-minded individuals, a great way to utilize this platform is to just make a profile based on nursing.
 Follow some nursing-related hashtags, nursing news pages, advice and more! Before you know it, you’ll have a curated feed focused on nursing!

Reddit

Let’s say you’re not super comfortable with traditional social media. You don’t want your face out there, and you’d rather just engage in old-school text conversations.

That’s where Reddit comes in!

It’s the one platform where you do not need to have an audience or be public-facing to make an impact. Simply follow some subreddits related to your interests, make some posts and comments, and boom — you’re a Redditor.

The possibilities on Reddit are endless, so whatever nursing-related item you’re looking for, you’re sure to find your group. 

Pinterest

Traditionally, Pinterest is used for idea generation. So why not use it to create a board full of nursing-related content? You’ll find cards that give you nursing advice, study help, ideas for patient care and so much more!

Get creative and see what’s out there! If you have some good ideas you think other nurses could benefit from, why not try making some social media content yourself? You never know what you may learn!